One of the things I hate most is when a fitness professional either brags about eating pizza and still having abs or they preach to people that they can still eat crap and lose weight.

The fact is, they are right. You CAN still get success and have your favorite treats – in moderation. HOWEVER, most people struggle with the whole moderation part. Most people can’t handle the freedom of factoring in their favorite treats. There must be some guidelines. There must be more accountability.

Playing things by ear or just cheating when you feel like it will lead you to failure. You need clearer boundaries to protect your success.

The people with a six pack who still eat pizza have figured out a way to fit treats in their new healthy lifestyle. But, living in maintenance mode is way different than diet mode. It doens’t mean you can’t have pizza or ice cream while dieting.

Breaking the Vicious Never-Ending Diet Cycle

So many people diet and train hard all week, only to blow it on the weekend. Sunday night is the time everyone reflects on their failures and decides to start their diet again on Monday. Monday after Monday, they start again and again – going one step forward at the first of the week and one step back by the end of the week. How can we stop this vicious cycle of weight loss sabotage? Here’s how!

Most people never diet long enough to get the results they want. However, most people need some kind of tangible reward to help them get through the rough times. People can’t stand the thought of giving up their favorite foods for 2, 3 or 4 months at at time. So, they cheat and they cheat too often – often enough to sabotage success.

Sadly, when we work really hard in the gym and have dieted so hard all week, we get a false sense of achievement that makes us believe “we deserve a treat” – but it’s too easy to erase our hard work with a poorly planned cheat meal.

Not everyone trains like the Rock. It’s not really fair to look at what other people can and can’t eat because we are all different. However, when we train and diet like a professional athlete, we tend to think we can eat like one. That’s rarely the case. We need to eat like someone trying to lose weight, not someone who is trying to win a marathon or CrossFit game.

If your main purpose is to lose weight, then you are eating and training for weight loss – not sports performance. If you are training for sports performance, then you can exit out of this blog because that a whole different ballgame.

Weight loss requires a commitment. It requires a exercise and diet plan, but if you are one of those people that feel like they can’t give up their social life, their date nights and their eating out then you have to do a plan you can stick with. Instead of committing to a 30-day diet or going on a never-ending diet, try this 14 day weight loss plan.

14-Day Diet – 8 Tips for Weight Loss Success

1. Stick to a diet for 14 days straight. No cheats, no exceptions. You can factor in small treats in your daily meal plan as long as it fits within your caloric budget but no big cheat meals or junk for 14 days. You can do anything for 14 days right? It’s JUST 2 WEEKS!

2. Set goals. Set a final weight loss goal and a 2-week weight loss goal. These goals will be the main determining factor when it comes to planning cheat meals and rewards. Use the LoseIt app to help you set goals and come up with a budget. LoseIt will even tell you when you’ll reach your goal if you stick to their plan!

3. Plan a special celebration cheat treat for the end of the 14 days IF you reach your goal. If you didn’t reach your goal, you have to wait until your goal is achieved before you can cheat. Whether it’s having popcorn at the movie theater, enjoying dinner date out or eating your favorite dessert, make a clear plan of how you are going to spend that special celebration meal or snack so you can look forward to the reward.

4. Make you cheat meal just that – one meal. Don’t have a cheat weekend. You can do a lot of damage in a whole weekend. When you have to make a choice on how you want to spend that one meal, you’ll appreciate it even more and it won’t sabotage your progress.

5. Only eat what you love. If you plan a cheat meal and you order your food only to discover it wasn’t as good as you remember, don’t waste the calories on food you aren’t thoroughly enjoying. Have a do-overs and save those calories for something else that you will truly enjoy.

6. Budget your “spending”. If your special treat was a shopping trip, you would likely go in already having an idea of how much you could afford to spend. You wouldn’t just show up and spend as much money as you want, you’d spend as much as you could afford. The same goes with eating and dieting. You should have a limit of what you are going to “spend” your calories on.

Even though you are supposed to enjoy your treat it is good to know in advance how much it “costs” ahead of time. Look up the calories just so you know what that food is costing you for added accountability and education.

7. Don’t feel guilty. If you wake up the next morning feeling guilty for your splurge, DON’T! This treat is a planned treat and a necessary part in your journey to help you enjoy the journey. If you are down on yourself at all, use that guilt to help boost your motivation to hit it even harder the next 14 days. That cheat meal can actually cause you to work even harder than if you hadn’t had it at all. Don’t feel guilty. You deserved it and one meal or snack will not erase 2 weeks of success.

8. Go right back to your diet the next day. After your awesome cheat meal, plan on going right back to the next 14-day diet. Set your next goal and don’t cheat until you have reached that next goal. The next 2 weeks will fly by! 2 weeks will turn into 2 months – and before you know it, you’ll have reached your goal!

By spacing out your cheat meals and only focusing on dieting for 14 days at a time, you are avoiding creating a habit of eating poorly every weekend. Not only will you avoid creating bad habits, but you will make more progress and that progress will keep you motivated to reach your final goal! This is not only great for weight loss, but it’s also great for maintenance too!

Give it a try!! Remember, you can do anything for 2 weeks.

Get Help

Try our Pfat to Pfit workout and diet program for the home or the gym. No equipment necessary. Apply these same principles on this program and get the same results Steve and Tasha got on Fat To Fit To Fat. All you need is a little guidance and to make the commitment!